Petaling Street Hawkers and Petty Traders Association president Ang Say Tee said restaurants in the shopping haven no longer serve the soup.
“Restaurants stopped serving the soup many years ago. It is to save the environment and also because it has become very expensive to purchase a bowl of the soup,” Ang told FMT.
A bowl of the soup is usually sold for RM300 to RM500, he said.
“There is no demand and many youngsters are aware of how the sharks are killed for their fins. They don’t want anything to do with it.
“The older generation might still want to try it once in a while,” he added.
A staff member from Kepong’s Tai Thong Restaurant said the restaurant had decided to stop serving the soup beginning this year.
“It has been removed from the menu. The move is to save the environment,” the staff member, who wanted to be known as Chun, told FMT.
According to a 2014 study led by the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, nearly 25% of sharks and manta rays face extinction, with over-fishing for fins and meat identified as the major cause.
Shark fin soup, which is commonly served on special occasions such as weddings or banquets, is considered a luxury item in Chinese culture.
However, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur communications director Rosemarie Wee said the hotel chain had stopped serving the dish about five years ago.
“Our clients have accepted the fact that we don’t serve the soup anymore. All our hotels are strong on saving the environment,” she told FMT.
‘Ban soup altogether’
Meanwhile, Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia CEO Andrew Sebastian urged Putrajaya to ban the dish from being served for the next four years.
“We are not asking the government to impose the ban forever. That’s not constructive. Once the shark population goes up again, in about maybe four years, the government can lift the ban.
“But for now, some of the species are almost extinct, and the government should immediately ban eateries from serving it,” he said.
Sebastian also called on Malaysians to stop ordering shark fin soup, saying the supply would stop when there is no demand.
Last year, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said over 80 hotels and restaurants in Malaysia had committed to being environmentally responsible by not serving shark fin dishes.